Teams

Georgetown:
Ever since the arrival of Coach John Thompson III, the media has focused on Georgetown’s version of the Princeton Offense. In this one, it was Georgetown’s defense that stuck out as the Hoyas were incapable of stopping hot three-point shooting by an Ohio side playing the game of their lives.

Not being able to beat the Bobcats’ screens to defend the outside shot and not securing defensive rebounds allowed Ohio to score more points on Georgetown than any other team in a regulation postseason game.

Ohio:
Ohio came into this game with the mindset that every #14 seed should have – you’ve got one game to show the country what you can do. They showed no fear, and they shot as if their lives depended on it.

The Bobcats shot 35.9% on the season from three point land, but against the Hoyas, they made 13 of 23 for 56.5%.

Players

Georgetown:
Over the final few weeks of the season, Chris Wright has emerged as the true leader of the Hoyas. Tony already talked about his performance in the Big East Tournament, and he continued his impressive play in the Big Dance.

Chris played the entire 40 minutes on Thursday, and despite not being as effective from long range as usual, he still managed to drive and get points in the paint.

Ohio:
The backcourt for Ohio was amazing on Thursday, shooting a combined 10-28 from three. D.J. Cooper hit five of those treys, including the dagger with just under four minutes left to push the Bobcat lead back up to double-digits. Just when the Hoyas thought they could muster a comeback, Cooper was there to remind them that this was Ohio’s night.

Referees

The refs weren’t great, but they didn’t have too much of an effect on this one. My biggest complaint were the two or three travel calls they made against Hoya big men doing post moves. The refs need to learn the rule and watch the players’ feet. It’s not that difficult a call.

Number of the Game

10: The number of minutes played by Julian Vaughn. For as much progress as Julian’s shown since last season, I’ve felt that he needs more run in big games. I don’t know why he’s consistently getting few minutes, but he needs to work on whatever the coaches want him to work on during the offseason because extra minutes for Vaughn could really help the front court.

Hoyas Run From Dunkin’

I was planning on making an infographic about the Hoyas’ postseason performances at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, but at this point, I’m glad I didn’t. From being one point away from being the first and only #1 seed to lose to a #16 against Princeton in 1989 to falling in the opening round to Ohio, let’s hope Georgetown doesn’t play at the DDC anytime soon unless it’s against Providence.

Teams

Georgetown:
This one is going to sting for a while. Everything was on the line, and the Hoyas played pretty well.

They started sharp and took an early lead. Georgetown had a little trouble during the middle portion of the game when West Virginia cranked up their defense, but the Hoyas were the sharper team down the stretch, and played tough defense to close out the game. Unfortunately, West Virginia’s combination of big shots by Da’Sean Butler and perfect free throw shooting in the final sealed the Hoyas’ defeat.

It was an effort to be proud of for the Hoyas, which is very little consolation.

West Virginia:
The Mountaineers showed everybody that they are a force to be reckoned with this March. With Syracuse and Villanova (and Georgetown) getting most of the national attention this season, it has been easy for national observers to overlook or even ignore West Virginia.

Not anymore.

The Big East teams have known about the great defense and tough players for a while; now everybody knows.

About midway through the first half, West Virginia increased their defensive pressure and really disrupted Georgetown’s offense. The Hoyas had been in an excellent rhythm for the entire Big East tournament until that point, and their free flowing offense seemed to grind to a halt. The Mountaineers were slightly more aggressive than Georgetown, getting to more loose balls and grabbing offensive rebounds. They didn’t show much on the offensive end outside of their star, Butler, but they did everything necessary to rightfully earn their first Big East Championship.

Players

Georgetown:
During the Big East Tournament, Chris Wright emerged as one of the premier guards in the Big East. His decision making, toughness, passing, and scoring were all on display in all four games, and he was an obvious choice for the All-Tournament Team.

The Big East Tournament is often a test to see which players can be at their best on the biggest stage, and Chris passed with flying colors. Apart from his scoring and assists, there were a few plays that stuck out as signs of Wright’s development; plays that only special players make.

West Virginia made a three-pointer to lead by 9 with about 11 minutes to play. Georgetown responded with a Hollis Thompson three-pointer – assisted by Wright.

Thirty seconds later, the Hoyas got a stop. Greg Monroe rebounded and threw a pass to start the fast break. The pass was intended for Wright, but Monroe overthrew it and it was headed out of bounds. Wright sprinted and caught up to the ball, then somehow, in one motion, he saved the ball from going out, shielded the defender, and zipped a pass to an open Austin Freeman for a layup.

Thirty seconds after that he ran the floor on another break, collected a pass from Monroe, and cut the lead to two. Wright was amazing the entire tournament.

West Virginia:
Chris Wright had a great individual tournament, but he also had an excellent supporting cast around him. For Da’Sean Butler, it was pretty much a one-man-show for the Mountaineers.

Butler was unstoppable, and the only choice for tournament MVP. He hit the game winning shot at the buzzer to send West Virginia into the semifinals, and won the tournament with his short jumper in the lane with 4 seconds to play in the final.

During this tournament he also passed the incredible milestone of 2,000 points in his career. He was already considered one of the greatest players in school history, and with his performance in New York he has cemented his name in the history books.

As important as his final shot was, the most important shot of the tournament came with about 10 minutes to play. Immediately after the Hoyas put together the run to cut the lead to 2 (see above) Butler nailed a three from the corner to push the lead back to six. At that time, momentum was with the Hoyas, and a miss there would have been another important boost for Georgetown. Butler knew that his team needed a three, and he made the shot.

Referees

The first half of the Big East Final was played with intensity, and few foul calls – neither team committed enough fouls to reach the bonus.

In the second half, the refs blew their whistled much more often. There were a series of poor decisions by the refs, including a strange series of fouls called against Julian Vaughn. Vaughn was whistled for an offensive foul with 9:39 to play. It looked like a block, but that call is difficult to make and often missed. That was Vaughn’s second personal foul. With 9:22 to play, Vaughn was called for a foul a non-shooting foul at the defensive end – his third. On the ensuing in bounds play, the refs called another foul on Vaughn, sending him to the bench with his 4th foul. It was his third foul in 17 seconds.

Vaughn returned to the court with a minute and a half to play and the Hoyas trailing by one. On that possession, with the shot clock winding down, the seldom used Mountaineer Casey Mitchell drove into the paint against Vaughn and obviously leaned directly into Julian’s body. Vaughn backed up and had his arms straight up. Julian actually got hit in the face or jaw from the West Virginia player, but instead of an offensive foul, or even no call at all, Vaughn had fouled out and West Virginia got two free throws.

The fifth foul on Vaughn was the most significant one of the tournament and also the most obviously wrong.

Number of the Game

0: The number of seconds in the second half in which West Virginia was trailing throughout the entire Big East Tournament. The number is even more remarkable considering that they won the quarterfinal by 3 points, and the semifinal and final by 2 points.

Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas defeated the Golden Eagles in dramatic fashion on Friday, but it wasn’t even close to Georgetown’s best performance of the year. The three-point shot wasn’t falling, and they let Marquette close the gap early in the game. What was excellent for the Hoyas was their energy – focusing on getting rebounds and loose balls, fighting on defense for blocked shots, and being aggressive on offense.

Marquette:
Marquette knew they had their hands full from the opening tip, and once Chris Wright started the scoring with a three-pointer, the Golden Eagles would not see the lead. They hung in it through the first half, and they managed to tie the game twice, but by the end of the game, the MU players looked visibly tired, as playing three games in three days and guarding the Hoyas all night caused them to fade.

Players

Georgetown:
Greg Monroe had another monstrous performance in NYC. He had 23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. He was dominating on defense, aggressive on offense, and his three-pointer was just icing -on the cake. When Greg plays with that much confidence, the Hoyas are going to be a tough team to beat.

Marquette:
There was a stretch in the second half, when it seemed like Maurice Acker was scoring every possession for Marquette. He was 4 for 4 the stretch with a steal and a rebound, and his effort was keeping the Golden Eagles in it for a while. But there was nothing he could do to stop the Hoyas, and there was nothing his team could do to score.

Number of the Game

1: Number of field goals the Golden Eagles scored in ten minutes from 10:49 to 32 seconds left in the game. They only scored six points in the final ten minutes of the game – two free throws, one layup, and one basket when the Hoyas had cleared the bench.

Happier Birthday

Last night was Coach Thompson’s birthday. Last year, I wrote about his birthday and said “And let’s hope that next year will be better.”

So far, so good. Let’s see if the team can give Coach a proper birthday present tonight.

Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas ran the risk of losing to Syracuse for the third time this season, but thanks to a solid 40 minutes, Georgetown defeated its most bitter rival for the convincing win. For most of the game, it looked like the Hoyas were in trouble. Every time Georgetown tried to put together an offensive surge, the Orange responded. Georgetown trailed by nine in the first half, but clawed back to make it three at the half. They fell behind again by nine in the second half, and at that point it really looked as though Syracuse would complete the sweep.

From that point, the Hoyas locked in and displayed a toughness that has been absent all season. There have been stretches when the Hoyas have played very well this season, but when the Hoyas play well, everything just keeps on rolling. Even in the games against Connecticut and Syracuse at Verizon Center, it was an amazing wave of emotion and momentum that turned those games around. For the first time all year, the players managed to reverse their fortunes through toughness and determination.

Georgetown put together a methodical and deliberate 22-4 run to go from down 9 with 13:44 left in the game to up 9 with 7:26 left. The Orange battled back to close the lead to two with 4:00 to play, but the Hoyas scored the next five points to stifle the final run from the ‘Cuse. This was the most courageous performance from a Georgetown team since the 2007 Eastern Regional Final against North Carolina.

Syracuse:
No one can deny the talent of the Syracuse players. Wes Johnson rightly won the Big East Player of the Year, and if the award had gone to Andy Rautins, nobody would have argued (even Johnson himself). Talent only takes you so far in March though. Teams that cut down nets have toughness and focus. I think that Syracuse has toughness, but it was not on display against the Hoyas.

The Hoyas played well, but for Syracuse there was something missing. Statistically, the Hoyas numbers were not all that good – 33% from three-point range, and 68% from the line. That might be worrisome to the Orange, that a solid team like Georgetown can beat them in a critical game without doing anything extraordinary. Syracuse will now enter the NCAA Tournament on a two game losing streak, and Coach Boeheim needs to get his players re-focused quickly.

Players

Georgetown:
Chris Wright had a huge game on Wednesday against South Florida, and he did it again against Syracuse – 27 points, six rebounds, six assists, 39 minutes. Besides his scoring, he helped control the game. The Hoyas were efficient and dominating down the stretch in the second half. Wright was the reason why.

Even in the final minutes when the Hoyas were on the verge of letting their lead slip away, Wright managed the Syracuse full court pressure very well and helped the Hoyas close out the game. Austin Freeman has been unable to find the range from downtown, and Greg Monroe only took eight shots against Syracuse. Wright more than compensated for his teammates, putting together a stellar all-around performance.

Syracuse:
Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins led the way for the Orange. Johnson scored 24 points and collected seven rebounds. Rautins posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. But during the critical stretch when the Hoyas turned the game around, neither one came to the aid of their teammates.

Rautins made a three-pointer to put Syracuse up by 9 with under 13 minutes to play. Th were his last points of the game. From that point he was 0-2 from the field (both three point attempts), had two turnovers and committed a foul leading to two points for the Hoyas. Rautins did stay active by adding three assists down the stretch, including his 10th assist on a Scoop Jardine basket with 6 seconds to play. In key moments, key players need to take charge. Johnson and Rautins did not.

Number of the Game

69.2: Georgetown’s field goal percentage in the second half. It’s one thing to be hot at home (like against Villanova and Duke), but for the Hoyas to play in a Big East Tournament game, against one of the best teams in the country, and pick apart the much-heralded 2-3 Syracuse zone, is remarkable.

New School

Since 1996, when Rutgers, West Virginia, and Notre Dame all joined the Big East, at least two of the original nine Big East teams have make it to the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. This season, for the first time, only one of the original nine made the final four at Madison Square Garden – the Georgetown Hoyas.

Teams

Georgetown:
Entering the 2010 edition of the Big East Tournament, the Georgetown Hoyas had played in 28 of the previous 30 quarterfinals. They made it 29 out of 31 with a convincing performance, defeating a pesky and unpredictable South Florida team. The Hoyas were sharp on defense and efficient on offense to methodically pull away from the Bulls.

South Florida:
Even though they defeated the Hoyas in February, the Bulls were a long-shot to win the rematch in a game of this magnitude. South Florida was absolutely atrocious shooting the ball from the perimeter. Some credit may go to the Georgetown defense, but the Bulls couldn’t throw it in the ocean, which made the upset bid impossible.

Players

Georgetown:
Chris Wright was the hero today for Georgetown. His numbers were impressive (16 points, 2-2 3PT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 turnovers), but he made big plays at the right time. Greg Monroe picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with 10:31 to play in the game; the Hoyas were up by 10 at that point. South Florida made a free throw to cut the lead to nine, and on the ensuing possession Wright made a three-pointer to stretch the lead back to 12. The Hoyas never let the Bulls get any closer.

South Florida:
Dominique Jones is the best player for the Bulls, and he led all scorers with 21 points. The Hoyas held him to a low percentage from the field (6-18 FG), but as always he got to the line a bunch of times to pad his point total. After 12 points in the first half, Jones tried to get his teammates involved to start the second half, collecting four assists on the Bulls’ first four baskets to get South Florida within six points of the Hoyas. Jones is a great scorer who excels when driving to the hoop, and occasionally making three-pointers. On this day his game was totally one-dimensional today, as he finished 0-5 from downtown.

Quality Not Quantity

A lot has been made of the lack of point production off the bench for the Hoyas, but the reserves made key contributions in the second half against South Florida. When the Georgetown lead was cut to six, Hollis Thompson made a three-pointer to stretch it back to nine. Jerrelle Benimon grabbed an offensive rebound and then collected an assist as Austin Freeman pushed the lead to 14. When Vaughn fouled out, Henry Sims came in and immediately forced a turnover. Then he collected a defensive board, drew a foul, and hit the front end of a one-and-one.

Number of the Game

79:39: That’s how long it took South Florida to make their first three-point basket in the 2010 Big East Tournament. They were 0-8 from long range in the 40 minutes of their opening win over DePaul, and they started 0-8 against the Hoyas, before reserve Shaun Noriega hit from beyond the arc with 21 seconds remaining.

Best Served Cold

When the buzzer sounded in South Florida’s upset win over Georgetown on February 3, Dominique Jones ran over to the student section and flexed his biceps directly at the Hoya fans. Now he will get a chance to make the same obnoxious gesture on the road in the N.I.T.

Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas have struggled to put together a 40 minute performance this season. Since the victory over Duke, the Hoyas have had only one satisfying performance start-to-finish in a big win over then-#2 Villanova. But even in Georgetown’s wins over Louisville and Providence, there were stretches when the team looked lethargic.

I will give Georgetown credit for this: they do not quit. Even in games when they are down big, they try to rally for a comeback. But, I would like to see that type of focus and intensity for the whole game, instead of only after falling into a huge hole.

West Virginia:
The Mountaineers played a very strong first half, as their high-pressure defense flustered the Hoyas and they turned Georgetown turnovers into easy points. After taking a 27 point lead, they went into cruise control mode, and they did not have a very good second half. But, they were never really threatened, and they came up with important stops and big baskets when needed.

That being said, I would not be afraid to play this team again with a healthy Austin Freeman. Offensively they are very streaky, and with one more ball handler and three-point shooter on the floor, I like Georgetown’s chances in a rematch.

Players

Georgetown:
Greg Monroe did his best to assert himself in the absence of Austin Freeman, scoring a team-high 22 points, and he was seemingly the only Hoya scoring in the first half.

A bright spot in an otherwise dreary performance was Vee Sanford. He hit two threes and looked comfortable on the floor. It didn’t make much impact in this game, but going forward, if he can come in and contribute a few positive minutes, that could be a big help.

West Virginia:
Da’Sean Butler had an ideal senior night, scoring 22 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out six assists in a resounding victory. His hopes of being Player of the Year in the Big East are in all likelihood gone, but he should certainly be first team all-Big East, and he showed why in this one.

Number of the Game

20: Turnovers for the Hoyas. Georgetown has a great defense, but too often they let their opponents off the hook. Against Notre Dame, the Hoyas gave up 12 offensive rebounds, meaning after a great 30 seconds of defense, the Hoyas would give the Irish an easy put-back or at least a second-chance to get a score. Against West Virginia, it was turnovers that did Georgetown in, as their miscues led to 24 points off turnovers, which is way too many, especially when missing your leading scorer.

Teams

Georgetown:
Georgetown is a good basketball team. They just have a tendency to try and hide that fact. There are a lot of reasons why the Hoyas lost this one – Austin Freeman was sick and nowhere near 100%, Notre Dame has a lot of motivation without Luke Harangody and they are better than they get credit for – but those are just excuses. The Hoyas needed a win, and they came short.

Now that it’s March, Georgetown needs to start winning a bunch of games in a row if they want to come out of the season with anything to show for it. The problem is, the Hoyas haven’t won three straight since Harvard, St. John’s, and DePaul.

Notre Dame:
Like I said, Notre Dame is a better team than they seem. With Harangody out, they came out more focused than the Hoyas, and they’re tenacity on the offensive glass really deflated the Hoyas, especially in the first half.

Players

Georgetown:
Hollis Thompson got his first start with the Hoyas as Austin Freeman was a last minute scratch. And with that, Hollis had one of his best games of the season. He scored 12 points off of 5-7 shooting, and he used his long arms effectively on defense.

Notre Dame:
Ben Hansbrough scored the first 10 points of the second half for the Irish, and his hot shooting put this game out of reach. The Hoyas had cut the lead to four to end the half, but the Hansbrough 10 – Georgetown 2 run to open the second put the Hoyas back into a hole.

After struggling to get the game close with five minutes remaining, it was Hansbrough once again who killed the home side, hitting a three-pointer and then stealing the ball from Monroe for a three-point play on the next possession. After that, the Irish’s 13 point lead was insurmountable.

Coaches

When trailing in close games in the past, Georgetown has opted not to foul, and to play tough defense instead. What’s resulted is that the Hoyas have ended up with very little time to try to win the game, and if the other teams managed to score, then the Hoyas were in big trouble.

Against Notre Dame, the Hoyas were down big, and Coach Thompson decided to start fouling with three minutes left. It doesn’t really matter that the game was quite possibly out of reach. It’s important that the team learns how to foul when it matters because without practicing that scenario in an actual game, valuable seconds can roll off the clock in games the Hoyas can’t afford to lose.

Fans

For the second straight home game, Hoya fans left the Verizon Center hearing the chants of their Big East rivals. That is not good.

Number of the Game

23: Minutes played by Austin Freeman. In a game where Austin needed an I.V. before the opening tip to help get him the fluids he needed while suffering with a stomach virus, it seems unusual that Coach Thompson would force him to play over half of the game. It was particularly confusing since Hollis had been playing well, Austin had been suffering, and the game was slipping out of reach. Hopefully Austin got the rest he needed on Sunday, because the Hoyas are going to need him against West Virginia.

Bye Bye Bye

If Georgetown had beaten Notre Dame, they would be in good position to earn a double-bye in the Big East Tournament by ranking in the top four in the conference. They would have had to have beaten West Virginia, but they would be coming off of three straight victories, and it would be March.

Now, that’s not going to happen – I’m not actually going to look at all the possibilities to see if there is any mathematical chance, but believe me, there’s no chance. Currently sitting in 7th in the conference, it is more likely that the Hoyas fall below #8 and have to play on Tuesday in the tournament. For a team thgat hasn’t won three straight since December, that would be devastating.

Teams

Georgetown:
Georgetown needed a win, and despite a small scare thanks to their slow start, they got what they came for. It was a crucial win for the Hoyas, coming off of two losses and facing a conference team ahead of them in the Big East standings.

As the season progresses, it is becoming more and more clear that Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe are the most consistent players on this Georgetown team. And it’s good to see that in a game when Chris Wright can’t get himself into an offensive rhythm that the other players on the team step up, and the Hoyas can still come out with a win against a quality opponent.

Louisville:
Louisville started the game out well, executing in transition and getting out to an early lead. While the Hoyas adjusted, getting the ball inside to Greg more and growing confident against the Cardinals zone, Louisville seemed stuck, and they didn’t adapt to the game well enough to win once their outside shots stopped falling.

Players

Georgetown:
Like I said earlier, Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe are studs. But a huge performer in this game was actually someone off the bench. I thought Hollis Thompson played very well, and his three-point shooting in the first half was a huge help when the Hoyas were struggling to get things done on the offensive end. All you need is a few key plays at the right time to have a huge impact on the game, and Hollis Thompson demonstrated that in Kentucky.

Louisville:
Edgar Sosa is the leader of the Cardinals, and he played well against the Hoyas. To me, though, an important player was Reginald Delk. In the first half, he was 3-4 from three and scored 11 points to help Louisville get that early lead. In the second half, characteristic of the entire Cardinals team, he hit nothing from outside and failed to execute.

Number of the Game

0: The number of field goals made by Chris Wright. A lot has been made of the fact that for a majority of games this season, when Chris has 10 or more points, the Hoyas win and when he doesn’t, the Hoyas lose. Today, Chris didn’t get his points, but he still played well offensively by breaking the press and getting assists. He played tough defense, and he didn’t let his jump shot affect the rest of his game. And the Hoyas won handedly.

Syracuse Blowout

Georgetown lost to Syracuse by four points. The Hoyas had a chance to take the lead with under a minute left, but the shot didn’t fall. Can ESPN commentators stop saying “Georgetown was getting blown out by Syracuse.” Syracuse was leading by 20+ points, but that doesn’t matter. It was a close game.

Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas have been a hot-and-cold type of team all season long, and you saw both sides in this game. The first 25 minutes of the game were difficult to watch, as Georgetown looked flummoxed by the Syracuse zone, as if the Orange have not been playing the same defense for 30 years, and they were totally incapable of stopping Syracuse, giving up wide open three-point looks or dunks.

However, then the Hoyas seemed to awake from a bad dream and put together a furious comeback, overcoming a 23-point second half deficit to give themselves a chance to take the lead with under a minute to play. And that is perhaps the most frustrating thing about this team. When the Hoyas are playing well, they can blow out teams like Duke and Villanova. But at other times they look lethargic, unable to beat even the weakest opponent.

Syracuse:
The Orange played like a number one seed for half of the game, and for a while it seemed like they were headed for a huge blowout. However, they looked very vulnerable as the Hoyas started their run. They got flustered and stopped getting the high-percentage shots that helped them in the first half. In the end, though, they were able to hold on for the win.

Players

Georgetown:
For the second time this season, Austin Freeman, Greg Monroe, and Chris Wright each scored 20 or more. Chris Wright was the only Hoya making any shots in the first half. Austin Freeman was instrumental in Georgetown’s second half run, punctuating the comeback with a thunderous dunk to make it a two point game with three minutes remaining. Greg Monroe missed the free throw to tie the game, but came up with a big offensive rebound to give the Hoyas another chance. All the efforts were for naught unfortunately, as the Hoyas had perhaps dug themselves too deep of a hole, but the Big Three brought the Hoyas almost all the way back; hopefully next time they’ll be able to get the win.

Syracuse:
Andy Rautins had a great game, putting up 26 points, including the two free throws to ice the game. He was the only player for the Orange who was scoring as the Hoyas were making their run, and he showed that he was the leader of the team.

Coaches

The Hoyas missed a chance to take the lead with under a minute to go, which meant Syracuse had the ball up one with about 41 seconds left in the game. Coach Thompson elected not to foul and play defense. Unfortunately, the Orange were able to run off valuable seconds and still get the basket, scoring with nine seconds to play, making it that much more difficult for the Hoyas to complete the improbable comeback. It’s a tough decision, but I probably would have elected to foul, seeing as Syracuse has not been a great free throw shooting team this season.

Fans

There were way too many Syracuse fans at the game for my tastes, and they were very loud for most of the first half. However, as Georgetown attempted to get back in the game, the Hoya fans started making a lot of noise, spurring their team on. In the end, the Hoyas would come up short, but the Georgetown fans did all they could to help.

Number of the Game

27: Made free throws for the Orange. Syracuse entered the game shooting just 65.8% from the stripe, but connected on 90% of their attempts in this one. Georgetown was only 66.7% from the free throw line, and that may have made all the difference in the game.

Teams

Georgetown:
Georgetown started the game looking very lethargic. In a game where the outside shots weren’t falling, the Hoyas adjusted well to go inside either by giving the ball to Greg Monroe or by getting to the basket. However, when the game was winding down, they went away from that and they could not get much needed stops on the defensive end, and that ultimately caused the loss.

Rutgers:
Rutgers has now won four straight at the RAC, and their confidence is soaring. They went into the game against the Hoyas knowing they were outmatched, but they were not intimidated and they wanted the win so much that their energy gave them the W.

Players

Georgetown:
Austin wasn’t hitting his three-pointers – he was only 1-5 before the last second desperation attempt – but he managed to step up his game in other ways. He drove to the basket for close looks, he made strong cuts for easy baskets, and he hustled for loose balls and rebounds. When the Hoyas aren’t hitting 75% of their shots, they need to find a way to win, and I thought Austin was doing his part to adapt.

Rutgers:
Rutgers’ freshman Dane Miller earned his second career double-double on Sunday. His tenth rebound came with 20 seconds to play when he put back Rosario’s miss to give the Scarlet Knights the lead. That putback gave him eleven points, and then he knocked down clutch free throws with ten seconds left to push the Rutgers lead to three.

Coaches

With ten seconds to play, Georgetown was down by three points. Rutgers had a full court press to slow down the Hoyas, and then before Freeman could take a shot, Mike Rosario committed a foul. That was the best coaching move of the game for either team, as the Hoyas could only cut the lead to one, and they would not have very much time to get the ball up court after fouling the Scarlet Knights.

Number of the Game

2: Number of jump shots the Hoyas made in the 2nd half. Greg made two jump shots, and the rest of the Hoyas’ points came from layups or free throws. In the first half, the Hoyas made some threes and the Benimon foot-on-the-line long two, and beside that, no mid range jump shots.